


The Goblin Prince

by Shashabeeterfly



Category: Labyrinth (1986)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Family, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-12
Updated: 2015-05-13
Packaged: 2018-03-30 06:38:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3926599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shashabeeterfly/pseuds/Shashabeeterfly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Christelle and her mother always had a strong bond. They both enjoyed magic, fantasy, and anything else people would associate with children. Christelle always felt like her mother was her best friend until she married her step father whose two daughters were the step sisters who seemed to have come straight from a fairy story. What no one knew, however, was that the king of the goblins had always been watching out for both of them, much to the prince's dismay. What will happen when the king takes Christelle away and offers her the throne?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if this is something I should continue.

Faust had always felt like his father was out of reach. He wasn’t a terrible father, of course, but he always got the feeling, even as a child, that he had only done what was required of him. He kept him fed, made sure he was presented nicely in the finest of clothing during banquets and other such events, and he made sure he was always safe. He got nothing more or less from him. Faust sometimes even got the feeling his mother was not getting the affection she craved from him either. He was sure he loved her to a certain degree, but he never looked at her like the kings and princes looked at their queens and princesses at the balls they threw. He would always watch as they all danced with one another and look deep into the other’s eyes as if they would never choose to be anywhere but dancing with them in that moment. When his father danced with his mother, however, it always seemed forced. He stopped right as the music did and retreated back into his study at the earliest opportunity. Faust could tell this embarrassed his mother, as she would then stand near the thrones fanning herself with a plastered on smile that insisted to everyone that she was just fine with the fact that her husband excused himself. Faust would sometimes offer to dance with her, which seemed to help her feel a little better. 

“Don’t hold it against your father,” his mother said softly to him as they danced at the celebration of his fifteenth birthday, “There are things that neither you nor I can understand about him.”  
Faust was rather surprised when she said this. She had never addressed the feelings they were certainly both feeling towards him. “Isn’t it his role as a father to let us in?” he asked her, “He never opens up and always shuts us out. What on earth is he always doing in his study?”  
His mother gave him a smile as they continued to waltz about the room with the other couples, but there was little light to it. Only that of a dim lit candle in a large black room. “Once everyone is gone and your father is asleep, I will show you,” she whispered, “But until then, I believe the lovely princesses who came just to see you should have a dance. I’d hate to hog you all to myself, little darling.”  
He did as his mother suggested and politely danced with the princesses who had come from neighboring kingdoms to celebrate the day of his birth. Many smiled, fluttered their long eyelashes, and showered him with compliments. Any prince would have enjoyed such attention, but Faust was reluctant to return the flirtations. He was simply not looking forward to the day he would have to choose a wife and take over his father’s kingdom. He hadn’t exactly had the best example of a good marriage to go by, and he didn’t want to be miserable or to make his future wife miserable as his father had.

Later that night, Faust waited outside of his mother and father’s chambers. After a while, his mother came out in her white night dress with her long auburn hair braided over her shoulder ready to show him what he had promised. She took her son’s hand and led him down the various halls of the castle until they reached the door to his father’s study. “You are never to reveal to your father that you have been in here,” she whispered.  
She waited for Faust to nod to signify he understood before slowly pushing the door open. There was a slight squeak, but nothing loud enough to disturb some of the sleeping guards in the hall. She then led her son to her father’s messy desk. He would never understand why his father didn’t at least have a few of the goblins clean a few things up for him. He couldn’t imagine anything was organized or that he could really find anything he needed in that mess. 

Faust watched as his mother picked up something he was not expecting to see in there at all. It was a music box. The base was pink, and on top was a delicate looking figurine with black hair and a pink poofy dress. Above and around her was a golden gazebo. His mother wound up the contraption, and the figurine began to slowly spin as a familiar tune began to play. He had thought he heard his father humming it to himself from time to time throughout his childhood.

“Long before your father and I married,” his mother began, “He fell in love with a human girl. Unfortunately, your father believed he could charm her by stealing her little brother when she wished for it during a fit of frustration. She regretted it as soon as the deed was done, but instead of doing to decent thing and giving her brother back, he gave her a challenge. If she could solve the labyrinth within thirteen hours, he would return the child to her. I believe he thought she would return his feelings sometime within her journey. Humans are not like we are, darling, they do not respond to mischief or challenges positively. They are frightened of those things, and although this girl was brave in her own way, he had frightened her with the mischief he threw her way. She stood up to it all and was not wooed by it, and she stood up to your father when she confronted him after solving the labyrinth. He was forced to return the baby, and she was never seen here ever again.”

Faust was confused. “So, he spends all this time in his study thinking about her?”

His mother gave him a sad smile. “Not just thinking about her, but watching her.” She looked down at the desk and set the music box down before picking up a crystal. “Here,” she said handing it to him.

Faust had barely mastered looking into crystals to see events taking place elsewhere, but with a squint of his eyes, he began to make out the image of a lovely woman with black hair as he held it up. “That’s her?” he asked.  
His mother nodded. “She’s a little older now,” she said, “and with a child of her own. She’s probably around your age now.”  
Faust continued to watch the woman. She was standing at her window as a man paced back and forth in the background. She looked stressed out and worried as the man in the background looked a little angry. “The man in the back is her second husband,” his mother added, “She remarried after the man she had her child with died. This man has two daughters of his own. It was only a few years ago the two of them married, and since then, your father has been even more distant than he already was.”

Faust shook his head and set the crystal down. “I don’t understand,” he said with a furrowed brow, “If she rejected his affection and moved on to marry another, why does he still watch her.”

His mother took a deep breath now. “I’m about to tell you something that might hurt,” she said, “but please know that your father does love and care for you.”

“Tell me,” Faust said in a tone that was a little more firm than he meant. He took his own deep breath and apologized.

His mother looked at him sadly before continuing. “Because your father still feels invested in her,” she explained, “and when her baby was born, he wanted to be sure he saw everything, from her first words to her first steps. Her first gentleman to attempt to court her. He feels protective of them.”

“But he’s my father! Your husband!”

“And he’s done everything a husband and father is to do for their wife and child,” his mother said.

“But no more!” he argued, “You’re content with this, mother? You’re fine with him fantasizing being the husband of a woman who doesn’t love him and the father of a child who is not his?”

“I can do many things for your father,” his mother said, “but I cannot make him stop loving someone else.”

This was not good enough for Faust. “Goodnight, mother,” he said dryly before storming out of the room. He felt like his blood was boiling and he felt sick to his stomach. From that day on, he decided he would call him by his name rather than “father.” If he was not good enough for him as a son, he would not acknowledge he was his son.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christelle and her step sisters get into a fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I got one kudos so far, so I'll take that as an invitation to keep going.

It had been shaping itself to be the worst week ever for Christelle. When she had gotten the lead in the school’s production of Beauty and the Beast, she had put her whole heart into being the best Belle possible. It was just her luck that she would get a terrible stomach bug that lasted from opening night through the third and final showing. If it wasn’t bad enough, she had overheard her father as she lay sick in bed practically sigh with relief. “At least that’s one less thing on the schedule this week,” he said in the room neighboring hers. Christelle really didn’t care for Kevin, and she would not have cared if he attended or not, but he didn’t have to make it so clear that it was going to be a chore for him to go. What made things worse was how her step sisters, Leah and Amanda (or as Christelle liked to think of them: Anastasia and Drizella) went out of her way to strengthen her misery. “Cheer up!” Amanda said as she sat uninvited at the foot of her bed, “Ashlynn might hit it out of the park do such a good job they’ll wonder why they even picked you for the part in the first place.”  
Leah nodded at the doorway with a smile. It was said in such a way that could appear like an innocent and genuine attempt to cheer her up, but Christelle wasn’t stupid. She knew the words were meant to be taken venomously, but it wasn’t like she could do anything about it. Kevin never punished his darling little angels. 

During her days spent bed-ridden, she tried cheering herself up and distracting herself from her disappointment by reading a book of her mother’s entitled The Labyrinth. She had found it a few years before her mother remarried up in the attic inside a box full of old toys. One being a dusty little teddy bear and the other being a gazebo shaped music box with a small figurine that turned to the lovely tune of a song unfamiliar to her. When she asked her mother about the items, she smiled and told her she could have them. “I nearly forgotten all about those things,” she said, “but you can have them. I suppose they’re nice keepsakes to pass down.”  
She then watched as her mother took the music box into her hands a little bit and really studied it. It was enough to make Christelle curious. Was there some sort of story behind the items that she wasn’t telling her? “I’m sorry,” her mother said finally handing her back the music box, “I guess I just zoned out for a moment.”

In times such as when she was down for reasons beyond her control, she enjoyed reading her mother’s old books while the music box played in the background. Both the story she read and the sound of the melody helped her to feel warm and safe.

It had been a day since the closing performance of the play. She was feeling much better now, but it was still suggested that she rested. She did call Ashlynn to ask how everything went. Despite the fact that Leah and Amanda tried to make it out to be like there was a competition between the two girls, Christelle genuinely wanted Ashlynn to do well as Belle. “Everything went fine,” her friend said, “but I think you would have done a great job. I really hope you’re doing okay. We should go out once you’re feeling better.”  
“I’m actually feeling okay now,” Christelle said, “but the doctor suggested I rest one more day. It’s really not so bad. I have my favorite book to keep me occupied.”  
“Right,” Ashlynn said, “but you can’t always rely on a silly book to keep you sane.”

Christelle had to laugh a little bit at that. If it hadn’t been for that book, she probably would have gone insane soon after she and her mother moved in with Kevin. Since marrying Kevin, her mother didn’t seem like herself anymore. They didn’t watch their favorite movies together anymore and recite the lines like little fangirls anymore, they didn’t read to each other anymore, nor did they get into their costumes anymore and reenact scene from their favorite stories. It was an activity that many probably believed was more for children, but it was fun to Christelle and she knew it was fun for her mother too. Why should they have had to stop doing it just because other people wouldn’t approve?  
When her mother married Kevin, it seemed like some of the light was snuffed from her. All of a sudden, her mother seemed to want to suggest that maybe it was wrong for Christelle to hold onto those “childish” things. “I know it’s fun, Chrissy,” she said to her when she brought up the subject, “but maybe you should think about picking up other hobbies. You can’t play pretend forever.”

Christelle never shared it when her mother, but she felt a little heartbroken the day she said this to her. It was all because Kevin was a dentist who made a nice amount of money who made it clear that he thought she looked silly in the princess dress she had been wearing when he met her for the first time. “Sarah,” he heard him speaking to her outside right as he was about to leave, “She’s almost a teenager. Don’t you think she’s a little old for that?”  
She loved her mother dearly, but she was so disappointed that she chose to give up the little child inside of her for Kevin’s approval. It just didn’t seem fair.

Of course, after she got off the phone with Ashlynn, she could not have just spent the rest of the day reading peacefully. Leah had to walk in and interrupt the few moments of peace and quiet she had to herself. “So…was that the star?”  
She strutted around the bed as if to imitate a runway model. Leah was pretty. She had brown hair like her father’s and hazel eyes. She also had a long elegant neck and a tall thin frame. She looked just like a princess from a fairy story and she had her share of admirers. “You must feel terrible knowing that she got to soak in all of the admiration that should have been yours.”  
Christelle simply rolled her eyes and tried to focus her attention back on her book. Leah wasn’t so smart, and sometimes if she ignored her, she would get up and leave unable to come up with anything smart to say. Unfortunately, Amanda came in soon after and invited herself to sit at the foot of her bed again. Amanda too had brown hair, but her eyes were brown. She was a little shorter than Leah, but still pretty. Unfortunately, she was the more conniving of the two. She took a little more work to get rid of. “Leah, how rude,” she said, “Can’t you see our sister is reading?”  
“Yes, I am,” Christelle said, “Now can you both please leave?”  
Leah seemed close to leaving, but Amanda held up her hand prompting the other to stop in her tracks. “Hold on,” she said in a way that seemed both directed at her and her sister. “What’cha readin’?”  
Christelle bit her lip with frustration. When Amanda spoke in a cutesy voice, it never ended well. She felt like causing her misery, and she wasn’t going to leave until she succeeded.  
“Please,” Christelle said closing the book, “I just want to be left alone. Can’t you just leave me alone just once?”  
They were wasted words. Amanda and Leah reveled in making her upset. “Not until I see what you’re reading,” Amanda said with a wry smile. 

Christelle immediately shook her head. Neither of these girls were going to lay so much as one finger on her mother’s book without a fight. 

“Oh, come on!” Leah said practically jumping on the bed and lunging forward to reach for the book.

“I said no!” Christelle yelled pulling the book away from her reach.  
Amanda took the opportunity to grab at it while she was distracted by the other sister and pulled. “Let go!” Christelle shouted.  
“But don’t you want to share with your sisters?”  
“Leave me alone!”  
Christelle pulled hard and was almost certain she would succeed in loosening Amanda’s grip with the book open and tore.

“Oops!” Amanda said falling back slightly with the other half of the book. She giggled a little as she looked at the contents. “Oh well,” she said, “It’s too bad about your baby book…but looks like you won’t be needing it now that it’s ruined.”  
Before Christelle could move, Amanda tore what was left of her half and threw the bits in the air as if to imitate snow. “You selfish little brat!” Christelle shouted.

It was then Kevin barged into the scene. “What the hell is going on in here?” he said, “and who made the mess?”  
Leah and Amanda now did what they did best. The two worked out fake sobs and ran towards their dad. “Daddy!” Amanda said, “We were only trying to see what she was reading. We thought she might have been lonely, so we wanted to cheer her up!”  
Kevin then looked over to Christelle. His jaw ticked. He was about to unleash the verbal assault on her when her mother appeared. “What’s going on?” she asked gently.  
“You’d better talk to your daughter!” he said firmly, “I don’t know how much longer you expect me to allow her to torment Leah and Amanda.”

When her mother looked at her, she could tell she knew that her step sisters were full of it, but she also knew that they were going to get away with what they just did. “Let me talk to her alone,” she said to Kevin.  
“This is the last time I’m allowing this to happen,” he said, “Other measures will have to be taken if it happens again.”  
He then wrapped his arms around his daughters’s shoulders and spoke comfortingly and calmly to them as they excused themselves.

Tears welled up in Christelle’s eyes as her mother approached her and wrapped her arms around her. “Shhhh….” she shushed softly, “Everything is going to be alright.”  
“No it’s not,” Christelle sobbed and wiped her eyes, “Look what they did.”  
She pointed at the confetti on the floor that was once the book they both enjoyed. She watched as her mother examined the mess before it dawned on her what it was. “What happened?” she asked. Her voice suddenly wasn’t as calm as it was before. She sounded hurt herself.  
“Amanda tore it up,” she said, “I tried to make them go away, but they wouldn’t leave and they wouldn’t leave me alone.”  
Her mother seemed to be searching for the right words now. She got the feeling there was so much she wanted to do about this. That she actually was going to stand up to Kevin and tell him that it was his daughters that were in the wrong. That she’d lay it on him and tell him that they had ruined something that was important to both of them. She then saw her mother close her eyes and take a deep breath. “Perhaps this is for the best,” she said softly, “Maybe it’s time we both grow out of that book, and all those things you found in the box.”

Christelle’s eyes widened. “Mom!” she said pulling herself away out of her mother’s grip, “Do you hear what you are saying? They just ruined something that was precious to both of us, and you’re saying that it was the right thing to do?”  
“Honey, I’m not saying that at all,” her mother said in the same gentle tone that was now getting on her nerves.  
“Then what are you saying?” she asked, “Because ever since we started living with them, you’re not the same person. You’re more concerned about keeping them happy, that you forgot all about me and what keeps me happy. What keeps you happy!”  
“Christelle…I…”  
“But maybe you are happy,” Christelle continued cutting her off, “Maybe this is what you wanted all along. A nice husband with a normal job and two perfect daughters you didn’t have to read or tell stories to. Is that what you always wanted, Mom?”  
“If you would just let me explain…”  
“No!” Christelle cut her off again, “I’m tired of hearing how Kevin is not a bad guy and I should try to get along with my step-sisters. Why should I try when none of you are trying? I’m done, Mom! I’ve been trying since I was twelve to like them and to be nice to them. I can’t do this for another three years!”

She then stood up from the bed and ran out of the room. She had bumped into the small stand next to her bed causing the music box to fall to the floor. The gazebo broke and the music came to a complete stop, leaving her mother alone in silence as she ran down the stairs, passed her step family sitting on the couch in the living room, and out the door into the pouring rain. Christelle was sure she heard Kevin shout at her to get back into the house as she continued to run down the street, but she ignored him. She wasn’t going back. They were all the same to her now, and she didn’t think she could ever forgive her mother for taking the side of the people who had kept her and herself from the happiness they shared before they came into the picture.

**Author's Note:**

> Don't be afraid to give me some good constructive criticism!


End file.
